JB businesses hit as S’pore dollar lures Malaysians

 

Many Johoreans have begun the old daily ritual of travelling to work in Singapore and returning in the evening. (Bernama pic)

JOHOR BAHRU: The reopening of the Malaysia-Singapore borders brought a huge relief to businesses in Johor Bahru with the economic activities nearly returning to normal after a two-year “shutdown” because of Covid-19.

As for Malaysians working in Singapore, they began the old daily ritual of travelling to work in the island nation and returning in the evening, saving much money in rental and cost of living.

However, the reopening has hit some sectors of the economy here as they are facing a severe shortage as Malaysians are quitting their jobs to work in Singapore because of the much higher salary when converted to ringgit.

Yesterday, the rate was RM3.16 for a Singapore dollar.

According to the secretary of the Johor Chapter of the Malaysian Association of Hotels, Yvonne Loh, hotels are facing manpower issues with many leaving for Singapore.

Yvonne Loh.

“I must say this problem is experienced by all sectors,” Loh told FMT. “For hotels, most of them are operating with an average of 50% workforce. Some cannot operate banquets and other functions at full capacity because they cannot cope.”

She said Resorts World in Singapore carried out a walk-in interview at a hotel here last week to recruit workers for its casino in Sentosa, and the queues were long, which got Johor Bahru business operators worried.

Loh said hourly rates for casual workers had also gone up from RM5-RM6 to RM10, and interns from hotel training schools who used to be paid RM400 a month were being offered double the amount.

“News reports from Singapore say the food outlets there are facing a serious shortage of workers and are willing to pay Malaysians S$4,000 monthly. Also, their hourly rates can go as high as S$28.

“This development is worrying as it will result in local businesses having no choice but to bring in foreign workers to keep them going,” she said.

B Ravinthran.

Loh said some hotels had tried recalling the workers laid off during Covid-19 but most of them preferred going to Singapore or had become e-hailing drivers.

Indah Cleaning Services CEO B Ravinthran, who only has Malaysians in his workforce, said the manpower situation was getting worse with some of his workers preferring to go to Singapore.

“They are being attracted by the high exchange rate. On top of this, Malaysians don’t want to do cleaning jobs even if I offer them RM100 a day as casual workers.

“It is getting tougher to find workers,” he said.

Ravinthran said there was a need for the nation’s manpower to be addressed on a long-term basis “before we see foreign workers flooding the country”. - FMT